Week of October 28th, 2012

Drawing will be held on Sunday, November 4th, 2012 and announced here.

How to win?

1) Follow this blog or subscribe via email. See upper right hand corner of blog to do so.2) Leave a comment under one or all posts this week for maximum chances. See HERE if you don't know how to leave a comment.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Happy Saturday!! Monique Griffith here, and it's my Saturday to post as Guest Designer. Thank you, Joy and Melanie for the great opportunity! And of course, you're all welcome to pop over to my blog anytime: Monique Griffith Designs. We post 5-6 times/week, and always have weekly blog candy. As you probably know, we design Cricut project kits that you can make with your bug, and we just recently got a functional shopping cart on the site, so it's all slick and automated now. Woohoo!

Alrighty, who has gotten the new Cricut Expression 2 yet??? I just got mine 2 days ago, and finally took it for a spin today. Well, I must confess that first I got my super smart hubby to do the update for me, and THEN I dove in. I actually read through the entire user manual, while trying out each function. Yes, I'm a nerd. But I feel pretty comfortable with it now, and really love it. So today I decided that I'd like to make a project using only the E2 and the carts that are pre-loaded into it. Here it is. See below for sizing details...

This single page 12x12 layout was made using mostly papers from Echo Park's "Playground" line (plus a couple of solids from Stampin' Up). I am a HUGE Echo Park fan - their papers are wonderful to design with! I used the Cricut Essentials cartridge to cut the navy blue "merry-go-round" wheel at 9 1/2". The orange circle behind it is 10", and the white circle behind that is 10 1/4". The cut isn't really meant to be a merry-go-round, but I thought it kinda looked like one and went with the paper and theme. I also cut the arrows from Cricut Essentials, all at 3", including the white shadows.

The "Play Time" title is cut at 3 1/4" from the Just a Note cartridge, and this is the cartridge I was most excited to start playing with. I think it's just adorable - and it also has THE cutest tri-fold cards on it - can't wait to try those out!! I like that the "Play Time" title has so many layers and a nice shadow - that really helped me tie in a lot of the colors from the layout. And of course I added a few buttons for a little extra cuteness.

This bear and slide are also from Just a Note, and it's cut at 4 1/2". Again, lots of great layers (I'm all about the details!!), and a nice shadow as well. Since there's so much color going on in this layout, the white shadows really help separate them visually. I added faux stitching in both white and black, and some little polka dots as well.

I don't use arrows too often (don't know why that is - they're so cool!!), but in this case, I really think they helped give the scene a sense of motion and fun. Oh, and I used a double layer of pop dots to pop up the navy blue merry-go-round cut to give it extra depth.

The photo mat sizes are as follows: Merry-go-round pattern is 4 1/4" x 6 1/4". Red solid mat is 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". Light blue mat is 5" x 7". All layers are inked with dark blue chalk ink (as are the other Cricut cuts in this project). I tucked the photo mat into the navy merry-go-round wheel, again to just add more depth and to help tie everything together. Thanks for letting me come over to play today, and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance at this week's blog candy!!! Enjoy your weekend!

Monique, as usual just precious. Love your choice of colors and cuts. Would love to lift if I can figure out what carts I currently have that will fill the bill. Can't justify purchasing a new Cricut just now. Thanks for sharing with us.--Ryansmaamagkburrow@cmaaccess.com

Fabulous layout - so cheerful and full of detail. My E2 will arrive today (my first E2 had the low blade/solenoid issue). I can hardly wait to open up that baby and get crafting! lflinesatcomcastdotnet

Love this layout!!! I think I talked about the E2 so much, my hubby finally said "Go ahead and order it"!!! It's my be-lated Mother's Day gift. :) Thanks for all of your inspiration Monique, Joy, and Melanie!

Love your Layout. So Cute!!! Love the paper and the arrows look great on there.I love your layouts. I'm so far behind on mine.Don't feel very creative. But when I see your wonderful Creations.You really Inspire me. TFS :0)

Monique, I could just stare at your LOs all day. You put so much detail and love into every one. Your work is amazing, I wish I had your eye for LOs but alas, I'm mostly about cards. TFS!pdela-torre@wavecable.comPam D

What a great LO! Love all the cheerful colors, and that paper is SO cute! I also just got my E2, and I've loved using it ~ I think it's very user-friendly and intuitive. And the preloaded carts are great!

What a great LO as usual Monique! Thanks for sharing the directions. I got an E2 and jumped right in but I find I have to keep going back to the manual to remember what some of the icons mean. At my age the CRS syndrome just keeps getting worse and worse - LOL!

Great layout! You always put so much thought and detail into your LO's. I never thought of using white as a shadow...I like it! Cute paper and carts. I don't have the E2, but I love to see projects made with it. TFS.Kathryn

I've had my E2 since May 2nd and haven't but read the manual and looked through the cartridge booklets. I've been wanting to see some other creations 1st and this one has got my creative juices flowing...thank you for sharing such an inspiring layout!

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About This Blog

We are a couple of Cricut lovers and bloggers who are excited to share our interest in the Cricut with others. We decided to do a blog devoted to Provo Craft's Cricut because people are always looking for great everyday Cricut ideas! We hope that by showing you some different things the cartridges can do, as well as some cuts you may have overlooked, that you are then able to be inspired to create some beautiful things.